Letters have been sent out to Edgerton and Birchencliffe householders living along the A629 telling them Kirklees Council needs their land.

The A629 Halifax Road between the M62 and Huddersfield town centre is in line for a massive upgrade as one of the district’s most congested routes.

Officials plan to spend £10m on the road, which will see the major junctions widened along the two-and-half-mile route.

Letters were sent to the owners of 18 properties along the Halifax Road corridor on January 5, one of which includes the grounds of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, opposite the Cavalry Arms pub.

In the letter Kirklees Council says it is “developing proposals for highway improvements along the A629 between Huddersfield town centre and Ainley Top roundabout. “The aim is to ease congestion, improve air quality, improve journey times and have a positive impact on the local economy.

“As you can imagine this is a big project and requires additional land for us to be able to deliver these benefits to the thousands of people who use this route on a daily basis.

“We are writing to you to let you know that land, identified as being in your ownership, or that you have an interest in, will be required for us to be able to complete this project and deliver these benefits.

“At this stage, it is not anticipated that we would need to purchase the whole property. The land we need will mainly consist of parts of gardens and parts of land next to the route.”

One of the people affected is Huddersfield businessman Bal Khela whose company owns property on Edgerton Green.

He said: “Basically, at the moment the council have invited me to a meeting some time next month to discuss this. There’s no doubt that the road needs widening and we have to come to some sort of compromise.

“I have planning permission to build a detached house so we will have to go back to the drawing board on that one!”

Kirklees councillor Carole Pattison (Lab, Greenhead) said she had been contacted by a couple of concerned residents regarding the plans.

She said: “I am hoping to see them face-to-face soon and I hope we will be able to minimise the disruption to themselves. The scheme will improve the flow of traffic to the top of the motorway junction.”

The crossroads on the route at Blacker Road/Edgerton Grove Road and East Street/Birkby Road are the main focus of the project which will both be altered to increase capacity.

The scheme to reduce congestion will also see parking banned between the Cavalry Arms and Birchencliffe Hill Road.

Further up, from Yew Tree Road to Ainley Top, there are plans to add a third lane onto the approach to the roundabout to speed up traffic heading to the M62.

A report for councillors said the £850k fund will allow senior officials to negotiate land purchases at short notice.

A £120m fund for wider improvements on the A629 Huddersfield to Halifax corridor is being managed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Kirklees will receive money when its part of the scheme is given the green light.